Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels

I have a very limited knowledge of Guy Richie as a director.  I haven't seen a single film from him, but I heard many wonderful things about his career opener, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.  I've watched bits and pieces of Snatch and from what I saw, it seemed entertaining to say the least.  So, for my first full fledged Guy Richie film, I chose Lock Stock.....Actually, the only reason I chose this was because Netflix didn't have any of his other films, so yeah, that's the truth.  Without a doubt, I can firmly say that this is a fun film that never takes itself too seriously.  I was expecting something slow or nothing special, but I got a great film.  Now, I know why this film has a cult following.  It also was the first film I've watched in 2014, so that's a great way to start the year!

Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is about 4 friends named Bacon, Eddy, Tom, and Soap.  Eddy is a very great card player.  His best skill is not the cards itself, but his ability to detect the slightest facial change in someone.  Soon, a big time mobster named Hatchet Harry hears about Eddy's skill and invites him to play some cards.  The game becomes heated, and let's say that Eddy now owes Hatchet Harry 100K.  If they don't get the money back in a week, each one of their fingers will be cut off.  There are many subplots intertwined in this film, but they all come together in a hilarious and vicious ending.  The only recognizable face in this film was Jason Statham as Bacon, one of the background characters.  It's a fairly decent premise, but good things are done with it.

The driving force in this film is the amazing script.  Every line of dialogue in this film is very interesting and there are moments of pure comedic gold.  Ritchie creates a world filled with crazy whack-jobs and unfortunate pot dealers.  It's one of the funnest cinematic experiences I've had in a while.  The film features many great performances as well.  Everyone had their moment to shine and they all did perfectly.  It's also a well shot film.  It captured the beauty of London and mixed in some of the grimy, dirtier places as well.  Again, the dialogue really was amazing, especially the card playing scene.  The tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife.  There were many good things in this film.

Although I found it great fun, many people could complain about some weird moments.  There are many moments where it's just a little too random and the humor is a little too dry.  Also, the character, Rory, just popped out of nowhere without any introduction.  He also seemed a little too stereotypical of a '70s black guy and I really wished his character would have something to do besides be weird.  Also, there are many characters introduced in this film.  It moves a little too fast pace and you may need to keep a notepad in order to keep track of these names.  Many characters are not given enough screen time as much as I wished (Jason Statham), but everyone was interesting in their own ways.  I could totally understand it if someone wasn't the biggest fan of this.

Overall, I thought Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was a great film.  It's finely acted and, at times, can be gut-bustingly funny.  Guy Ritchie had an amazing directorial debut and I enjoyed this film.  From the very first minute to the last second, I was hooked in this quirky, but grimy mobster film.  However, many problems can occur, such as the random scenes that hold no significance to the plot at all.  Also, there were a lot of characters in this film and you may forget who's who at one time.  However, those are minor complaints because this film was a fun Brit crime-comedy.  I thoroughly enjoyed Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.  Now, I'm very interested  in seeing Snatch and maybe Sherlock Holmes.

7.5/10